Bristol City were close to failing Financial Fair Play rules last season, according to a leading online football finance expert.

The Swiss Ramble Twitter account released a thread of online posts - see below - analysing City's finances on Tuesday, following the club releasing its latest financial accounts a few days ago.

And the analysis says that the Robins made losses of £47m over the last three-year period - a sum far in excess of the permitted £39m target.

However, with clubs permitted to 'invest' an estimated £12m into the club's infrastructure, the academy and their community activities, the final amount is believed to be around the £35m mark - under that crucial £39m ceiling.

The full thread show that the Robins remain 'fortunate to have a benevolent funder' in Steve Lansdown, who has invested an estimated £134m to date.

The detailed investigation follows on from last week when we spoke with football finance specialist Kieran Maguire about the tough challenges facing Bristol City.

As reported last week, the club announced losses of £25.3m before tax but with revenue increasing to £26m.

The wage bill also rose over the last accounting period by some 30 per cent.

However, there was good news with all revenue streams rising against a back drop of increased club attendances and City among the biggest spending clubs for transfer fees over the reported period.